THE provisional cause of death for two children who died after the incident off Bournemouth beach last week has been revealed as drowning, a coroner has said.
Last Wednesday, 12-year-old Sunnah Khan and 17-year-old Joe Abbess died in hospital after getting into difficulty in the water off Bournemouth Pier.
A postmortem examination has been carried out for the two children and the Dorset coroner Rachael Griffin has said both died as a result of drowning.
Speaking at the inquest openings for Joe and Sunnah, Mrs Griffin said: “Following his death, a postmortem examination was undertaken upon the body of [Joseph and Sunnah] on June 2 and was conducted by Dr Purdue.
“I understand that following that examination, Dr Purdue has confirmed a provisional cause of [Joe and Sunnah’s] death as drowning.
“Samples were retained for the purpose of further investigation, and I ordered the retention of those samples until the conclusion of this investigation.”
Joe, a trainee chef from Southampton, was taken to Royal Bournemouth Hospital where he later died and Sunnah, a student from High Wycombe, was taken to Poole Hospital where she later died.
Mrs Griffin said: “It is very important that people do not speculate in relation to the circumstances surrounding both Joe and Sunnah’s death, and allow the police investigation to proceed, which will then assist and allow my coronial investigation to proceed.”
She added: “I wish to take this opportunity to offer my sincere condolences to Joe and Sunnah’s family. My thoughts are very much with them at this difficult time.
“My thoughts are also with all of those involved last Wednesday, including those who responded to the incident and those who witnessed the traumatic events.
“I urge anyone with information which may assist the investigation to provide it to Dorset Police as soon as possible.
“I also wish to take this opportunity to remind all those who enter the sea, or any open water, to be aware of the powers of the water and the risks associated with swimming in open water.
“It is important that they are aware of how to react when problems arise, and I would urge people to follow the guidance provided by national agencies such as the RNLI.
“These issues are not just related to the coastline here in Dorset, but to the coastline nationally and internationally, and any body of open water.”
A pre-inquest review for Sunnah and Joe will commence on September 18 at 2pm.
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